And this is it - the last chapter of 'MMB'. I can only apologise for the er, nearly 2 months waiting time on this last chapter. I only hope you feel it has been worth the wait. In the meantime, I've been working on another couple of A2A and LoM fics, not sure whats going to happen to those, only time will tell.
Thanks for those of you who have very flatteringly set Story Alerts and Favourite Story markers for this one, consider me chuffed :)
Final reviews on this fic pending, thanks very much and heres to S2 and the next fic round :)
Fire Up the Quattro and the Gene Genie forever!!

Chapter 8

Gene slid round the table again and sat down, leaving a space between himself and Alex.

'You alright?' he asked softly.

Alex sniffed and wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. Gene searched for his handkerchief and pressed it into her hand.

She looked up and took the material, brushing her fingers on his hand as she did.

'Thanks Gene.' she said quietly.

'You're welcome.' Gene held back asking for details from her.

'That's been coming for a couple of weeks.'

'Alex, you don't have to explain if you don't, y'know…'

'No, I want to. I owe you an explanation.' she sat a little more upright and pushed her hair from her face.

'Evan's started to call a lot more, ever since we had a quiet drink together about a couple of weeks ago. I told him I only wanted to be friends, that I couldn't be any more than that with him, but he wasn't listening to me.'

'Looks like he still isn't getting the message.'

Alex smiled wanly at Gene, trying to put a brave face for him.

'I think it might be sinking in now. Thanks to you.'

'I have my uses.' Gene smiled back at her.

'And I owe you a drink.' Alex told him, waving her fingers to attract Luigi's attentions.

The Italian owner saw, nodded and grinned at them and was almost immediately over to their table with a scotch for Gene, another wine glass and a full bottle of red wine.

'On the house,' he told them, smiling at them both and returning to polishing his wine glasses.

'Thanks,' Gene raised his glass to her, 'Cheers.'

'Cheers,' Alex clinked her glass against his, 'Oh! I have something for you!'

'Easy, Bols, it's a public place!'

Alex raised her eyebrow suggestively and held out her hand.

Gene looked at it.

'Give me your hand then..' she told him.

'Is this one of those weird posh bird initiation ceremonies?' Gene asked her.

'No! Just be quiet a minute!'

And so saying she pulled her belt from around her waist.

'Bloody hell Bolly! Can't we just go to your flat!' Gene was taken aback, at her bravado.

And then he saw it wasn't a belt she was pressing into his hand.

It was a tie.

His tie.

Sam's tie.

Gene looked down at the strip of material, slightly creased from it's job as a temporary belt, and then looked at Alex.

'I wondered where that had got to…'

'I thought you might have. I did press it, but, er, as you can see, it might need a quick iron again. Sorry about that.'

'I can't believe you used my favourite tie as a belt!'

'I can't believe you left on Saturday morning without a word!'

'Ah. Yeah, well, I didn't like to disturb you. You could be a right sight first thing without your slap on, Bols.'

'Oh thank you very much!'

This time, Alex wasn't arguing with him. In fact, she was smiling and teasing - almost flirting? Gene wondered?

He slid the tie round his shirt collar, leaving it dangling round his neck.

'Oh you can't leave it like that!' Alex told him, and placing her wine glass on the table, she leaned over.

Gene submitted to her as she fastened the tie round his neck, and then sat back.

'Better?' he asked.

'Hmmmm. Not quite.' she answered, and leaning forward again, she pulled the knot loose and undid his shirt top button.

They sat practically nose to nose for a moment, and then Gene cleared his throat.

'Thanks Bolly.' he returned to his drink.

Alex reached her hand across the seat and covered his hand with hers, making Gene start.

He looked at her as she scooted across the seat and very gently but firmly kissed him on the cheek.

'Thank you.' she told him in his ear, and pulled back a little.

'You're welcome,' he replied after a lapse into silence, 'What for?'

'For looking after me. Even when I don't realise you are.'

She smiled at him, a light in her eyes telling him she meant what she was telling him.

Gene gently squeezed her hand with his, and nodded at her.

The sounds of the rest of CID arriving for the evening drinking made them pull apart slightly, but the memory of the pressure of her lips on his cheek and the feeling of her hand on his kept Gene gently smiling the rest of the evening.

Shaz certainly noticed the looks that the pair were exchanging, but hugged the secret to herself.

Chris and Ray were seemingly oblivious to what was going on that evening, and Shaz herself had no intention of spoiling the mood between her senior officers.

At the end of the evening, the bar slowly emptied, and Gene and Alex were still sitting side by side, talking.

Luigi cleared up, emptying glasses, switching off lights, upending chairs on tables, and finally, loath to interrupt, but desperate for his bed, he coughed loudly.

'Signor Hunt - I need my sleep now.' he announced and nodded at the clock behind the bar.

'Right you are, Luigi. Leave the keys for the bar on the side, eh?'

'Gene!' Alex giggled, 'For goodness sake!'

Luigi stood, looking at the two of them.

It was times like this he missed his mother, dead these ten years and buried in a small cemetery just outside of Rome. She would often sit and watch people as he ran his father's bar, Luigi reminisced. 'Mama' would sit, and smile and crochet, all the while watching and matchmaking.

Luigi could see her now, waggling her finger at Gene and winking at Alex in that all knowing way that elderly women seem to have the knack of.

He watched, as back in the real world, Alex stood up and pulled Gene to his feet.

'Thank you Signorina,' he told her quietly, silently promising to wipe a small amount off her tab the next day.

'G'night Luigi,' Gene nodded at him as he stood by the door.

'Signor Hunt, good night.' Luigi said, and with almost indecent haste, he encouraged both detectives out of the door and onto the steps that led to the street.

Alex giggled again, as the blinds in the windows snapped down and lights inside the bar flicked off.

She turned and sat down on the top step, looking at Gene, who was looking at her.

Her face was illuminated by the garish neon light, but still, Gene thought she was gorgeous.

He could see her mascara was slightly smudged under her eyes, and her hair was starting to straighten out after the warm fug of the bar, but she still had the power to render him incoherent.

With love? With desire? With total confusion?

Whatever it was, it was late, and she wasn't going to give him time to work it out tonight.

Alex stood up and held out her hand to him.

'C'mon Gene,' she told him, 'Time for us to go home.'

'If you say so Bolly. Me, I could go another couple of pints, but you being a bird and all…' he replied, climbing the steps to stand beside her on the pavement by his Quattro.

Alex dropped her head back and stretched her hands to the sky, standing on her toes as she did so.

In the distance, a church clock struck midnight.

'I'd better go in,' she announced, stifling a yawn, 'It's late.'

'Turn into pumpkin do yer?' Gene said, as she rolled her eyes at him and dug in her jacket pocket for her keys.

They walked to the entrance door slowly, neither of them actually wanting the evening to end.

'You didn't have to walk me home.' Alex smiled at him.

'There are some dangerous people round here, Bols.' he told her.

'And - don't tell me - you're one of them?' she teased, looking at him through her lashes and taking a step closer to him.

Her sudden proximity made Gene gulp, and his voice was huskier than he had intended when he tried to reply.

'You'll be safe now, anyway.'

Alex looked up at him, pushing her hair back from her face and smiling coyly.

'Oh, I always am when you're about, Gene.' she said.

And for the second time that evening, she leant towards him and very carefully kissed him on the cheek.

Gene couldn't help himself, he leant into the tiny amount of pressure being applied to his face and closed his eyes, revelling in it.

When he opened his eyes again, Alex was looking over her shoulder as she let herself into the main staircase to her flat.

'See you tomorrow Gene.' she told him.

'Yeah, see you tomorrow, Bols,' he replied, but she had gone.

Standing on the pavement, Gene breathed in deeply. The smell of Alex's perfume clung to him, and he could almost feel her lips on his cheek again.

A moment later he heard a noise above him and he automatically looked up to see her leaning out of her living room window.

'Sweet dreams, Gene!' she softly called and waved to him, though it was more of a waggling of fingers that he saw before the window closed again and he saw the light go out.

Back in his own flat, the smell of perfume seemed to stay with him, and it wasn't until he was laying his tie over the back of a chair that he realised where it was coming from.

Alex had worn his tie all day, and in doing so, it had become impregnated with her scent.

Gene held the tie up to his face and deeply breathed in, closing his eyes.

He slept well that night, the scent of Alex's perfume a gentle reminder that despite the confusing and often conflicting emotions she raised in him, he, Gene Hunt, the Gene Genie, was glad she was here.

And who knew where that kind of thinking would lead?